A Painted History of the American Post Office

The post office has ever been a touchstone of our lives as Americans. Herein, we present a visual guide as to why, from murals that were collected in Democratic Vistas: Post Offices and Public Art in the New Deal, now out of print (courtesy of Temple University Press).

"Skating on Bonaparte's Pond"

"Skating on Bonaparte's Pond"

Bordentown, New JerseyAvery Johnson

In researching local Bordentown, New Jersey history for this 1940 commission, Avery Johnson happened upon a steel engraving of the home of Joseph Bonaparte (older brother of Napoleon I and former King of Spain) perched at the top of a hill. Local lore had it that every winter, Bonaparte opened his pond to local children for ice-skating. While the children skated, Bonaparte would roll oranges and apples on the ice for them to chase. Today, locals say that the ghost of a man appears every so often to watch ice skaters on the local pond and rolls out oranges and apples that mysteriously disappear. Johnson's piece, like many other pieces of New Deal art, captured both a beautiful scene and local history. Johnson painted several Post Office murals across the country, and later taught at the Montclair Art Museum in New Jersey and the Newark School of Fine and Industrial Arts.

Photograph courtesy of the Public Buildings Service, General Services Administration.

"Men and Wheat"

"Men and Wheat"

Seneca, KansasJoe Jones

One of the most popular muralists of the New Deal Murals, Joe Jones, won this 1939 mural commission with a design of men on a wheat farm. However, as was common across the country, Jones and the local postmaster disagreed on the focus of the painting. The postmaster thought a wheat-farming scene was more appropriate for western Kansas where wheat was grown, than the Northeast where his post office was located and wheat wasn't a common crop. As a compromise, far in the background are some scenes of other, more general farming. Jones said he painted the mural for the craftsmen and farmers who knew the joy of building something with their hands from start to finish, a skill few people knew in the 1930s. Jones said of his piece: "Aside from the importance of wheat to Kansas my interest was in portraying man at work… man creating."

Photograph courtesy of the Public Buildings Service, General Services Administration.